Mark Wahlberg says he wouldn’t have let a plane crash into the World Trade Center on 9/11

By Sarah Anne HughesJanuary 18, 2012

Mark Wahlberg. (Matt Sayles/AP)

Original post

Mark Wahlberg occasionally plays an action star on the big screen and apparently thinks he could be one in real life.

In an interview with Men’s Journal, excerpted online, Wahlberg explained how he would have stopped a plane from crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11.

The “Contraband” actor, who was actually scheduled to be on one of the planes that crashed, said:

If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’

Now you may be thinking, as I did, “This quote must have been taken out of context!” Nope, not really.

The quote is from a section of the interview that covers Wahlberg’s maturation from bad boy Marky Mark to, as George Clooney puts it, a “really interesting man,” who has mellowed but still retained his toughness.

Interviewer Erik Hedegaard asked Wahlberg about a bar brawl he once got into. The actor replied, “When you put your hands on me, it’s a problem. Hedegaard continues, “So he’s still got a lot of that tough guy in him. More tough guy: He was scheduled to take one of the Boston-to-Los Angeles flights that crashed into the World Trade Center, but canceled a few days prior. ‘If I was ... [the rest of the offending quote.]’”

What do you think, readers? Is the quote offensive to the family members and friends of those who died on 9/11? Or is Wahlberg just trying to make a point in his own special way? Sound off in the comments.